Abandoned: Loss
by Demonic Pokeyfruit
Summary: This story is a prequel to the fan comic Abandoned on DeviantArt by Demonic-Pokeyfruit. We watch Jarrel, Akiko, Maverick, and Hunter as their history expands to the beginning where they were thrust into the harsh world of the nobles. The deaths of their family caused by the nobles contempt shape them into the wolves that they are presently.
1. Frost

Just a brief introduction. I haven't posted anything in half a century on here, but since I had posted this story on my DeviantArt account, I decided to put it up on here for anyone who would want to read. This is a story based in the Wolf's Rain universe, but doesn't coincide with the main story line of the pack or the nobles. If you have no desire to read because of that, I understand completely. For those that are still interested, continue! :D

The frigid cold had made the land bitter and dead over time. It seemed like this winter had been the hardest yet. There were no animals that were stupid enough to waste their time in a frozen mass of mountains and blizzards. Many years ago, it was a perfect paradise. Years of the environmental destruction and the world slowly dying had made it dangerous and unsuitable for a perfect living. The large pack of wolves had now been decimated to a starving few.

Although they were starving, some had no appetite. The group of 8 wolves had just lost the larger portion of their family. The nobles had their soldiers comb the white peaks for these canines, and had attacked when they least expected. Their mighty, successful group of nearly 40 were slaughtered. Those that were smart went and hid when they realized that there wouldn't have been a difference made if they searched for survivors. It would've only resulted in more deaths.

These few that still remained were of the alpha's immediate family, and closest subordinates. The alpha, Orn, and his mate, Takara. Their three remaining children; daughters Akiko and Maverick, and the last son, Kenko. Jarrel, who was the only male beta of the pack up to that point. Jäger, or Hunter as he was more commonly called, a loner of the group but respected for his skills in exactly what he was named after, hunting. The last was Freya, an old den mother that watched over young pups while the alphas were hunting or away for other matters.

The three pups that still lived after the malicious slaughter of the noble's commands were stiff, even as they moved forward forcing their paws through the soft snow. Until then, they had no real experience of living in danger resulting from humans. They were exposed to tales and songs from their den mother that either gave them entertainment or helped them sleep, but the real confrontation was much scarier than any of them could have imagined. They were giants wielding sharp objects, thunder sticks and garnishing themselves with hulking, black skin. What was even more offsetting were the red eyes that seemed to glow.

Akiko, the one who seemed the most shell-shocked of the three, pushed through the whiteness and whined, wanting to be by her mother's side. Takara took a brief moment to coax her daughter and encourage her to keep moving. The three siblings weren't fully grown, so they weren't quite expected to act like perfect adults just yet. The extra attention to Akiko had held up the group some, and caused Orn to bark to his followers in frustration.

"Keep moving! We need to keep a steady pace!" The old wolf commanded. Like it was a ritual, the rest moved closer behind him. Takara approached her mate and whispered to him. Once the words were uttered, he stopped and turned to face his kin and friends.

"I suppose we've traveled far enough today. The next thing we can consider shelter will be where we'll sleep for the night." He explained, and with that he continued forward once again. Some of the others sighed in relief knowing that they could relax soon.

It had taken some time, but they had eventually come across a cliff side that had hollowed out sections of rock near it's base. There were enough sections for each wolf to have their own personal sleeping space, two young ones could even fit if they tried. Orn had found this a perfect place for the time being. He knew very well that what remained left of his pack couldn't travel much farther. The adrenaline wore off, and the wolves were unaware of how exhausted they were until now.

However, even though they were totally defeated and knew they could collapse into the ground, Jarrel and Hunter shared a few words. Once they had made a decision, the two of them headed towards the horizon of the white valley they stared at in front of them.

"What are you two thinking?" Orn caught their attention in a gruff. The two males looked at each other, one nodding to the other. Jarrel then approached Orn, his head low clearly showing his respect towards the old one he still viewed as his alpha.

"Sir, the pack hasn't eaten since the attack. The younger ones wont last much longer if we don't find any food. Hunter and I will scout out the area, and we'll bring back anything we find." The beta had responded.

"Alright, be safe." Orn sighed. "First, I want to speak with you for a moment."

"Of course! Anything you need, sire." Jarrel's tail wagged ever so slightly. It made him happy to know that Orn still seemed strong enough to keep an alpha's steady mind after all that's happened.

Orn looked around to see if any of the others were listening. As he expected, everyone else had already made their bedding areas and were sleeping heavily. The alpha then turned back to his beta.

"If anything should happen to I or Takara, you must assume the leader position of this group." He simply ordered.

"Why so sudden?" Jarrel responded.

"I still feel like I'm in a nightmare. Almost all of my family had been wiped out in one morning. I keep telling myself to wake up, but I know I never will. All of those passes were secure, and somehow those demons still found us. They won't stop until all wolves are dead and rotting in their claws." Orn explained, a disturbed expression on his face, his muzzle wrinkling up in disbelief. "If our home wasn't safe, no place is safe for us. There's a pitiful feeling in my guts, and it's telling me that my luck may be finished."

"Are you saying you're certain you'll die soon?" Jarrel asked. Even as he was asking questions that would hint at uncertainty, this brute kept himself strong and steady. "Excuse me for my interruption, but I have to suggest that you have a different mindset." He then could feel a low growl in his throat, but he tried to subdue it. "If you succumb yourself to the fear of dying, you _will_."

"I appreciate your concern, but my fear is now necessary. What I am asking of you is to lead this pack. You're the beta for a reason. You have an aggravating temper and you seem to lose your composure more than one would find acceptable. However, you're the best chance they have to survive."

Jarrel could feel himself becoming annoyed by this, but, he swallowed the need to disagree, and he bowed before Orn.

"As you wish. I'm honored that you have chosen me."

"Good. Now go look around where the old streams used to be. If you're lucky, you might be able to find a rabbit or two."

"Yes!" Jarrel barked, almost as if he were giving a salute, and he turned to Hunter and the both of them headed off towards a thick growth of trees.


	2. Shock

Some time had passed, and the two males had not returned from their hunt. While the others were resting, Orn was keeping watch to warn the others if any enemies were nearby.

Maverick was watching her father as he seemed frozen against the piled snow. She could tell that he was distraught, as normally he was a noisy fellow. Always talkative, telling a joke, all while being able to stay perfectly serious. They were all taking the impact of the catastrophe hard, but Maverick wanted to help her father feel better in some way. Knowing that Orn was sitting a ways off away from the rest of them, she knew that she could sneak off and possibly join Hunter and Jarrel in catching some food. She wanted to make herself useful. This was of course, until she heard the needy whispers of her sister echoing from her den.

"What are you doing?" Akiko whispered, making sure to keep her voice down so she didn't wake the others.

"Jarrel and Hunter probably need some help catching food, that's all. I'm going to help them." Maverick stated, rather proudly, as her tail rose high in the air.

"What? You can't stand Jarrel! Besides, you'll only get yourself killed." Akiko replied, almost taunting her barely younger sister.

"Says you. I don't want to just sit around here while we wait for the end of the world." Maverick grumbled, as she silently walked forwards into the snow, making sure to keep her steps quiet so she didn't get her father's attention.

Very soon, once she had traveled far enough away, Maverick was sure she had caught herself the scent of a vole that was buried in the snow. She could even hear it scurrying around. Her head was battling the problem of finding Jarrel and Hunter first, but as she imagined the scenario. She knew that as soon as she found them they would make her return to the others. They would say that she was too young to be trusted with a hunt, how they needed to stay together, and any other reason why they would convince her she wouldn't be useful. So, in order to combat this, she decided that she would show her usefulness by catching this vole. Well... once she caught it, anyway.

The creature scurried beneath the snow so fast that Maverick couldn't catch up with it. Her paws pounded into the snow, collapsing the tunnels on all sides, hoping that she could catch the vermin. When there were no more sounds to be heard, her instinct was to dig it up, hoping that she had killed it. She was unaware of just how much noise she was actually making around her. In a moment of frustration, she shoved her head down into the snow, attempting to see it through the snow, even though there wasn't much she could spot. She waited desperately for a small brown rodent to start digging its way to her. That is, until she heard something running in her direction.

"Maverick, you lunkhead!" It was her brother, Kenko.

Maverick could feel her fur sink back into her body, as she just knew that her brother probably told her parents where she had run off to. After all, since he was aware that his father needed more help with managing things since their numbers had dwindled, Kenko was determined to grow up fast and take on responsibilities of an adult.

"Why are you out here by yourself? You know it's dangerous." Kenko scolded his sister, already trying to sound much older than he was.

"Dad said the entire world is dangerous now. Why does my being here make any difference?"

"You're safer in numbers. Not by yourself." Kenko then looked at the snowy mess that Maverick had made. "Heh, couldn't catch it, could you?"

Maverick only grunted.

"Well, you were never good at hunting anyway. Let's go back before Dad notices." Kenko looked around and listened for a moment, making sure that nothing that could be considered a threat was watching them. Maverick was surprised. If he wasn't lying, that meant that she might not be in trouble yet. She looked down at her disappointing example of trying to snatch a vole, but shrugged it off her mind and stood behind her brother. He started walking in the direction, and she almost pranced behind him. It looked like-

Maverick couldn't finish her last thought. She heard a loud crack of thunder in the sky. Only, there were no clouds, or rain. The sound seemed much closer than normal thunder would be. Her body jumped when Kenko's body hit the snow, making a crunch under the flakes. The snow around his head began to turn from white, to pink, to red. There was a hole that entered from the back of his head and opened up again down the base of his neck. Maverick was frozen, as she tried to comprehend what happened. Soon, Kenko's limbs turned spastic and began to flail, kicking snow up all around him. Low moans and grunts, mixed with desperate and primitive whines emerged from his stomach and through his throat. This made Maverick even more confused.

It finally registered in Maverick's head what just happened. It was almost exactly what took place days earlier when her other siblings died. All of her friends and the adults that she respected. However, when this happened to them, the deaths she saw only made them fall to the ground and they never got back up. Kenko on the other hand was still moving. Violently at that. Was he still alive? A strange pain arose in her stomach, and her throat knotted itself. She could hardly breathe. She was frozen, as the visions of her family's slaughter slowly came back to her. Soon, her mind snapped, and she came out of her trance.

"Kenko?! Can you hear me?!" She whimpered to him, the body in front of her still shaking, the muscles contorting from the tremors. Very soon, Kenko then laid limp, the red cloud in the snow expanding slowly. His stomach stopped heaving as he took his last breath.

Maverick felt her eyes swell up with tears. She could tell that her brother was dead now. He looked exactly the same as the others that fell victim. She felt a jolt of pain in her body as she heard another thunder crack. Snow flew up into the air and hit against her fur, and she felt pricks against her body with each clump of snow that hit her. Whatever had just tried to shoot her missed, but came very close to striking her. Once she realized what had happened, she bolted back to where the others were. The cold wind hit her in a blast, realizing that her body had gone into an intense sweat as she watched her brother die.

It wasn't very long when she made it back. She panted heavily, and the large wolf that was Orn approached her with a concerned look in his deep golden eyes.

"I heard the thunder strikes. I see you weren't hurt." He spoke sternly, as he then nipped Maverick firmly on her shoulder. His daughter yipped and moved back several feet. She prepared herself however, as she knew she would possibly have an even greater punishment given to her when he soon learned of Kenko's fate. "Before you explain why you left, do you know where your brother ran off to?" He asked, his ears turning firmly forward, waiting for an answer, his muzzle lightly turning into a snarl. Maverick felt herself begin to cry again, and she tried to force herself through whines and sobs.

"He went to find me... he..." Maverick faded, as she thought of Kenko lying in the snow lifeless, bleeding steadily through his neck as his corpse turned cold with the snow.

"What?" Orn barked lightly at her, trying to keep himself from exploding, as he could see that she was upset.

"He's dead... I'm so sorry, Dad." Maverick's muzzle curled up as she bit her blackened lips. "It's all my fault... I'm sorry..."

Orn didn't speak. His body shook to know that another child of his was gone, and now all that remained of his pack was in danger once again. He tossed his head up into the sky, and looked past all the trees. If nobles were attacking, there would be air ships close by, or vehicles driving through the forest. They must have had their soldiers traveling lonesome to search for the remaining survivors. If their hunt was to succeed, they would need to be discrete. Orn intended to find who it was that killed his son. There was no time for crying or mourning. That would be later.

"Stay with the pack and tell your mother what's going on. I'll return soon." Orn ordered. Eyes locating the trail of Maverick's tracks, he set off in that direction, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Sweetheart!" Takara rushed to Maverick's side, and she looked over to see her mate's dark form vanishing in the distance with the trees. "Where is he going, now?"

"Kenko's dead, mother... It's all my fault." Maverick's head was low, her snout almost reaching the snow. She shivered.

Takara had the same reaction has Orn. Only she did begin to cry, but tried to not let it overcome her. She needed to be strong for her family. She remembered hearing the shots from a gun earlier as well, and listening to Maverick only solidified her fears. Paws rushing through the snow, she only moved a little farther, and tossed her head back and let out a long and mournful howl. She made the howl quick though, letting Jarrel and Hunter know that a tragedy has happened and they needed to return.

Hearing the howl as it hung in the frosty air, Jarrel and Hunter's heads shot up, both their ears alert. Jarrel had a young rabbit in his jaws, and Hunter had found a hibernating snake that hung from his muzzle. It wasn't a lot of food, but they had to settle with what they were able to find since they had been gone for so long. They were already making their way back when the howl had finished.

Sensing the urgency, they both ran as fast as they could, their paws sinking far into the snow. In several minutes of their running, they had almost made it when there was another gun shot heard. This made them pick up their speed. The sight they were welcomed with struck their hearts with rage. Takara was lying in the snow, but her front legs reached out in front of her, as she tried to pick herself up. Her two remaining pups, Akiko and Maverick, were trying to assist. Maverick bit into her mother's scruff on her neck and tried dragging her to the cliff face where it was the safest. Jarrel hurried himself to help her, but before he could reach, there was another gun shot, and blood surfaced in Takara's flank. The wound itself wasn't life threatening, but it was soon discovered that there was another bullet wound in her stomach that went right through her body, and she was bleeding profusely there.

When Jarrel made it to Takara's side, he saw Hunter drop the snake he was carrying and rushed past him, and hurry off behind the trees. He guessed that his friend was trying to find the human that was so intent on killing them. Jarrel kept worries off his mind as he lifted Takara by moving his head under her stomach, and carrying her on his back where her stomach met her legs. It was a rather painful way of taking her to safety, but it would only be for a moment to get her out of the firing range. There was yet another gunshot, but didn't hit any of the wolves as they ran for cover.

To try and keep her alive, Freya had prepared a section of bare ground as quickly as she could from snow or debris that could cause her alpha pain, and they set her down. For now, until Hunter and Orn had returned, all they could do was try to keep her warm and give her comfort. Freya laid on one side of Takara, and Akiko took the other. Takara grit her teeth and whined in pain, until her body adjusted to the new position and the feeling of two other wolves lying tightly against her frame. Sensing their body warmth helped her to settle down, but her mind was racing.

"You need... to hide... Forget about me..." Takara rasped out, as her strength was being sucked from her body. She could hardly speak.

"Hunter is trying to deal with the problem. He'll have it taken care of." Jarrel reassured her, as he kept look out, just waiting for the menacing figure on two legs to approach. They were covered by the cliff face on one side, and on the other, there was a large mound of snow that blocked their vision beyond. The human would have no choice but to pursue them face-to-face if he wanted to finish the job.

"Dad went to go kill it. If they're both fighting it, the demons won't have a chance..." Maverick spoke, trying to keep her mother calm. However, Maverick seemed to have shut down. Her voice was monotone, and all expression was removed. It seemed that all of the chaos had broken her at this point.

"Really?... That's good. Orn will keep us safe. He always has..." Takara tried to speak, her eyes seeming like they sparkled when she spoke of her mate, even though their color was diminishing. Maverick looked on, and eventually turned away. Her eyes were the same as Kenko's, slowly losing their light.

There was yet another gunshot, and the sound of distant howls and growls. Soon, there was a man's scream. There was an obvious struggle as a cavalcade of yelps and human grunts broke through the mountains. Jarrel felt a smile creep onto his face. He laughed, as he enjoyed so much to hear the sound of a human's suffering.

"Heh heh, good ol' Orn and Hunter, always getting the job done." Jarrel said with pride.

"Kenko is still dead... and mom..." Maverick muttered.

"Please stop..." Akiko begged from her sister, as feeling her mother slowly begin to stop struggling was more than enough for her to handle. Her only surviving sister filling their heads with hopelessness wasn't helping.

"Kiko... you know it'll happen. Look at her." Maverick grunted.

"That's enough!" Jarrel growled, snapping at Maverick. "We don't need harsh words. You're only making the situation worse."

There was only one bark that came from Freya. Freya was not one that talked much. Only when she was needed for the pup's sake, otherwise, she was a silent observer. The fact that she was catching their attention was enough to stop the bickering.

"Please, we need to work together if we'll make it through this. This is why wolves are the supreme creatures. This is why we are the apex predator of the world." Freya told them sternly. She then moved her head down to look at Takara. She seemed to have stopped moving. She moved her muzzle down and her teeth wrapped around Takara's ear and she tugged it. Takara woke, and she was then panting, breathing hard.

"My entire body hurts..." Takara tried to say, her voice lowering in volume. "... but the pain is going away... I'm starting to feel better..." Takara tried to see if she could get up and walk, but she soon discovered that she couldn't feel her legs any more.

"Mom...?" Akiko nudged her mother's side with her snout.

"... You two need to be strong... stay together..." Takara told her two children, before she started to feel a cold draft sweep over her. It took all of her pain away. "B-Be strong..." She said finally, before the cold entirely swept over her body, and she closed her eyes. All of the muscles relaxed in her body. Freya and Akiko could feel her sides cave in and cease to move. Freya made a sigh and braced for the worst, as she stood and looked down at Takara. The alpha was gone, her body looking like she was in a peaceful sleep, but they all knew that she would never wake.

Maverick, still stunned from Kenko's death, only watched as she saw her mother fade away. To keep herself from becoming an emotional wreck, Maverick pounded her paws into the snow and walked off in another direction. Knowing that the human was probably taken care of by now, and that there seemed to be no more disturbance from her father and Hunter, she moved a fair amount of distance away from the rest. She sat on her haunches on a rare patch of dirt, and her tail wrapped around her paws. She stared into the ground, her mind drowning in the images of death she had seen.

Jarrel watched Maverick move off. He felt he had to say something to her, but he knew there would be nothing that he could say that would ease the pain. Plus there was a history between the two of them. Maverick never liked Jarrel's arrogance and fake concern from everyone else, at least, that's how he made it seem. Fake. Jarrel always viewed Maverick as the most annoying and least useful child that Orn and Takara ever had. Always fooling around and being a trouble maker. Never learned any lessons from her superiors. He almost saw her as a waste of flesh and bone. This was not the time for such thoughts, though. One of his alphas had now passed on, and seeing the blank expression on her face while her eyes had closed and she stopped breathing, he simply turned his head away. Tears swelled up in his eyes and trickled down his face. He hardly ever cried, but he definitely did this day. Orn's haunting words of his suspicions that he and his mate would die were haunting him. Could he have predicted this?

Akiko reacted as any daughter would of their mother's death. She cried, and hard. So much so that she could feel her body tremble. Freya, being as faithful as ever to her duty, came to the younger wolf's aid and comforted her, grooming her fur from any snowflakes that may have rested there, and getting rid of any dirt. Freya was crying as well, but knowing that she was continuing the job that she had been given from the day she had reached adult-hood kept her strong and productive.


	3. Guilt

Hunter's eyes glared down at the human body that lay before him. He licked his lips of the blood that he had just shed. Humans never tasted decent. Their bodies were always poisoned with waste from their chemically made food, or the alcohol that they enjoyed so much. However, this day, a human's blood never tasted so sweet. In his run to take revenge on his fallen comrades, he found Kenko's lifeless body that was as cold as the snow itself. It angered him that they fought so hard, and still the ungrateful creatures trudged on to destroy.

The black wolf was angry still. Orn was the first to attack the human. The rifle the human had, which had one of the largest and most efficient scopes ever made, had shot off when the alpha approached the man. However, the bullet only hit the sky. Orn did his best to bite the man's throat and end his family's suffering. The man had an emergency knife and struck Orn in the chest. The man had injuries, but he would have been able to get away had Hunter not been there. Hunter made it just in time to finish the job. His teeth tore apart the man's face. Hunter wanted to make sure he would suffer for what he had done in these past few moments. The man's face was nearly gone, and when that happened, Hunter ripped the jugular.

What had been apparent from this struggle was that the man was alone, and he was not affiliated with the nobles to Hunter's disbelief. He had a different type of uniform on. It was white, which showed that he tried to blend into the environment. He also had a different weapon from that Hunter could notice. His scent was hidden from a type of scent remover. All of these tricks were that which resembled a normal hunter. The pack must have gone into the wrong direction at the wrong time. They had stumbled right into this hunter's path, and if no action had been taken and they all had just run away, Kenko would have become his rare and expensive trophy. In this world, wolves were believed to be extinct. Large amounts of money would have been paid in order to have a mounted wolf in one's trophy room.

Hunter's eyes moved over to Orn's body. The knife was still in his chest, and the old wolf was still breathing, but he didn't have much time left. The black wolf came close to him, and the alpha's golden eyes shifted to watch him.

"Watch over the pack... Jarrel knows what he has to do..." Orn rasped from his bleeding diaphragm, his lungs slowly collapsing from the damage. "Do whatever you need to keep Kiko and Maverick safe..." This was the alpha's last wish, as soon his breathing stopped as well. The body was limp, and Hunter grit his teeth. How was he going to tell the others? Maybe he wouldn't have to say anything at all.

Hunter came closer to Orn's body, and his teeth closing down on the dagger that dug so deep into his chest, pulled the blade out. Surprisingly, not much blood was coming out, but most of it was in his body. The internal bleeding made too much pressure against his lungs, and it was making Orn suffocate until his last few seconds of life. Hunter lifted up the body and had Orn propped over his back and the alpha's head rested against his shoulder. Looking around and seeing the top of the cliff face jut out into the skyline from a distance away, Hunter began making that horrible tread back to the rest of the pack.

Many thoughts were racing through Hunter's mind. It was obvious it would take a while for them all to recover from this. The dead weight of his leader made him feel so much heavier, and it took him longer than usual to reach the pack. Eventually, he did make it, and the first sight he was greeted to was Maverick sitting on her lonesome. Her head was still lowered to the snow, but her ears flicked and pointed over in Hunter's direction when he emerged from behind the trees. She lifted her head to look at him, and realizing who the limp wolf was that was lying over his shoulders, she turned away. Hunter could hear her sobbing now, where she was quiet before. Glancing over to the others, he saw that Takara's body had been dragged from the bare patch of dirt where she was lying, over to a deep hole under the snow, and Jarrel had been digging a foot or so into the ground. Close to Takara's body was Kenko's. It seemed that someone had gone and collected him before Hunter had made it back.

Jarrel stopped his digging, and turned his head to look at Hunter. Hunter gently placed Orn's body on the snow, and he placed his jaws over one of the dead alpha's front legs, dragging him to the holes that Jarrel dug. Jarrel resumed his digging, not saying a word, knowing that he would have to make another hole quickly. Freya and Akiko watched, seeing that yet another family member died. However, they could smell the human blood on Hunter, and they sensed that their troubles were over for now.

Once all of the bodies were buried, the food that Jarrel and Hunter had found earlier had been divided up amongst the five remaining members. Even though everyone had lost their appetite, their bodies still hungered for something to keep them functioning. While they were eating, Jarrel had finished his small bit and looked up around the horizon. The sun would be setting soon.

"We should start traveling at night. Humans don't enjoy the night time, since they can't see that well. We'll use that to our advantage." He said to the rest. He sighed. "We'll start moving once we finish eating."

"Don't you think we should stay here for a little longer? Another day, at least?" Maverick spoke, strong sorrow hinting in her voice, but she also seemed offended.

"This is human territory. The longer we stay, the more danger we're in." Jarrel responded. He turned his head so that one of his eyes could look at her. He tried to keep himself calm, but he was sure that Maverick was going to cause a problem.

"Who nominated you leader?" Maverick asked with a growl. "We need our time to mourn. You're going to run us into the ground."

"To answer your question, your father did." Jarrel snapped. He was now facing Maverick and walking over to her, the fur on his back raised on end. "Besides, under pack law, the Beta assumes control over the pack once the alpha has either stepped down or is unable to continue their leadership due to unfortunate circumstances."

"I think Dad would've told us all what his intentions would be if something did happen..." Maverick's ears flipped back, and her tone turned even more negative. "You're trying to steal what he had..."

Akiko began to feel angry at her sister. "Maverick, stop!"

"Stay out of this!" Jarrel snapped at Akiko. "Might I remind who you got us into this mess in the first place?" Jarrel growled lowly towards the instigator. He'd had it, and so he replied with a statement that he hoped would rightfully shut Maverick's maw.

Although the hunter would have found them regardless had Maverick been involved or not, from what she had explained and the events that took place after, all of the wolves believed that Maverick was to blame. However, the only one that held it against her was Jarrel. The others believed that it was a case of them being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not only that, Maverick had been beating herself up for it ever since. The depression and angst had reached it's toll. She could feel rage dwelling inside her.

"How dare you!" Maverick snarled, and before she even realized, she was charging at Jarrel from that short distance away. Her fangs were expecting to meet his neck, but instead she felt a sharp pain in her's, and she felt the bite of snow in her face, as her head was pushed deep into the white ground. It was almost like the pair of fangs wrapped around her neck were trying to suffocate her.

"Jarrel!" Hunter and Freya both shouted. Akiko was silent and trembling, watching Jarrel hurt her sister.

Maverick was in shock of what he was doing to her, but soon she was able to pound her front legs into the ground and push herself up, her back legs kicking at Jarrel's chest. One of her claws on her back paws nicked him in the eye, and he whimpered, letting go of her and standing back away from the flurry of fur and claws. Maverick had turned around again and tried attacking his head. Jarrel dropped his body to the ground and Maverick flew over him, landing on small hill of snow that was behind him. When she had landed, she stood tall and faced him, making herself look large and intimidating, even though she wasn't fully grown yet. Jarrel made the intimidating gesture right back. Since he was already the largest male in the group now since Orn's passing, he made Maverick look as though she were a tiny mutt.

"Just try, pup. I'll crush your bones and feed your body to the rats!" He threatened.

Maverick, out of her young and foolish mind, went on with her intentions to make Jarrel suffer from what he said. Fangs and claws were stretched out, intending to strike flesh and fur. Maverick's body stopped as she felt another set of jaws biting her neck, and someone pushing her down to the ground with so much strength that it made her immobile. Her eyes nearly went wide as she tried to see who was doing this to her. Surprise overcame her when she learned that it was Hunter.

"Hunter... what-?" Maverick tried to speak.

Hunter moved a paw over Maverick's body, and he stood over her in a defensive stance. He whispered so that only Maverick could hear him.

"The last thing your father said was asking me to protect you. I've now made it a promise to him." He explained, and he then looked up to Jarrel. "I won't let you hurt one of Orn and Takara's children! They're the only remnants of their bloodline! How would you live with yourself if you killed her?"

Jarrel still stood tall and strong, but his growling had ceased, and he looked over the rest of the wolves there. He huffed and snorted, walking off in a different direction. It seemed like everyone had finished their meal.

"Everyone. Make a howl to remember those that we lost today, and the days before! We're heading out immediately!" He commanded them.

No one argued with him, and they all howled for several minutes. Their sorrows emptied out into the sky, and the moon rose out from behind the mountains and lit up the world through the darkness. Once they were finished sharing their words with the night and all the creatures that could hear them, the now even smaller pack continued their journey. Only this time, they were under the control of a new leader, and only armed with the memories of what their family once was.


End file.
